Copying apparatus

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is an improved copying apparatus provided with an improved holding device. A typical device for holding the original, according to the invention, comprises a rectangular frame and a transparent glass plate disposed at a bottom portion of the frame, and an original supporting plate movably disposed under the transparent glass plate in such a way that the original supporting plate can be pressed upwards. A cushion may be secured to an upper surface of the supporting plate. An optical means for projecting an image upon a copy paper, which is held in a stational condition during the copying operation, is disposed above the glass plate so that the original can be placed on the supporting plate in a condition wherein it faces upward. Thus, when a certain number of copies are required to be made from a series of originals in a book form, the pages can be turned by lowering the supporting plate without taking off the originals from the supporting plate.

United States Patent 2,184,698 22/1939 l-leyboume 2,282,768 5/1942 Pickett Primary Examiner-Samuel S. Matthews Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Wintercorn Attorneys-Robert E. Burns and Emmanuel Lobato ABSTRACT: Disclosed herein is an improved copying apparatus provided with an improved holding device. A typical device for holding the original, according to the invention, comprises a rectangular frame and a transparent glass plate disposed at a bottom portion of the frame, and an original supporting plate movably disposed under the transparent glass plate in such a way that the original supporting plate can be pressed upwards. A cushion may be secured to an upper surface of the supporting plate. An optical means for projecting an image upon a copy paper, which is held in a stational condition during the copying operation, is disposed above the glass plate so that the original can be placed on the supporting plate in a condition wherein it faces upward. Thus, when a certain number of copies are required to be made from a series of originals in a book form, the pages can be turned by lowering the supporting plate without taking off the originals from th supporting plate.

PATENTEDuuvz IBTI 3517.122

i SHEET 10F 2 COPYING APPARATUS The present invention relates to an improvement of copying apparatus, and, more particularly, it relates to a novel electrophotographic apparatus provided with an improved means for holding an original.

Generally, in conventional copying apparatus such as an electrophotographic apparatus, the original is held on a plate of transparent glass in a downwardly facing condition so as to receive the lighting of the apparatus. Therefore, in case the original-is a part of a series of originals, it is troublesome to carry out the copying operation because the folded substance must be opened and faced downward on the glass surface at all time during the operation. Furthermore, the original may be damaged in the above-mentioned operation.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved copying apparatus having means for holding an original for eliminating the above-mentioned drawback of the conventional electrophotographic apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved electrophotographic apparatus having means for holding an original for eliminating the above-mentioned drawback of the conventional electrophotographic apparatus.

The object and advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following description which illustrates examples of the copying apparatus of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electrophotographic apparatus according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a device for holding an original for copying by the apparatus shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the device for holding the original, taken along the line [1-11 in FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 he schematic diagram of another embodiment of the copying machine according to the present invention.

In a preferably embodiment of the electrophotographic apparatus of the invention shown in FIG. I, a rolled paper supply system is applied. A roll of paper 1a is rotatably mounted on a shaft 1 and the paper is fed to a device 7 for providing an electrostatic charge. The device 7 comprises a pair of electrostatic charging members 7a and 7b. Along the path of the paper delivered from roll paper la, a guide roller 2, a pair of feed rollers 3a, 3b, a pair of delivery rollers 5a, 5b and a pair of curved guide plates 6a, 6b, are disposed in the described order as shown in thedrawing. A cutter device 4 comprising a cutter knife 4a and a base 4b is disposed between the feed rollers 3a, 3b and the delivery rollers 5a, 5b in relation with the passing paper. The cutter device 4 works at every time of completion of the electrostatic charging upon the fresh paper so that a se ries of separate charged papers having a predetermined cut length are made. The above-mentioned cut paper is hereinafter referred to as a copy paper. A potential image forming device comprises an optical means and means for carrying the copy paper. The carrying means comprises a perforated endless belt 9 driven by a drive roller 11 and guided by a guide roller 8 and a tension roller 10. A suction nozzle 13 is collecting lens 19 and a pair of electric lamps 21a, 21b disposed symmetrically with respect to the center of the lens 19 and a reflection mirror 20 disposed at a suitable position for reflecting the light coming from the lens 19. The reflection of the mirror 20 is projected on a copy paper supported upon the belt 9 by means of the suction force of the nozzle 13, while the endless belt 9 is stopped for a predetermined period. Therefore, the electric lamps 21a and 21b must be actuated synchronously with the motion of the endless belt 9. In other words, when a copy paper is carried by the endless belt 9 and contacts the feeler 18, means for driving the drive roll 11 is stopped by the action of the limit switch 17, and the electric lamps 21a and 21b are switched on. After a predetermined period of lighting, the electric lamps 21a, 21b are switched off by means of the action of the timer relay (not shown). Means for 'developing the potential image of the copy paper comprises a developing bath 27 located downstream of the curved guide plate 23, and pairs of feed rollers 24a, 24b, and a pair of squeezing rollers 25a, 25b, disposed in the bath 27. A pair of curved guide plates 26a and 26b receive the copy paper disposed inside the endless belt 9, with the suction apertures thereof closely facing the inside surface of the endless belt 9 at a side of the optical means. The nozzle 13 is connected with a terminal 14 of a suction conduit 15 which is connected with a suction fan 16. A roller 12 is rotationally mounted in contact with the endless belt 9 at the position of the guide roller 8 and a curved guide plate 23 is disposed in the vicinity of the downstream end of the endless belt 9 as shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, it is possible to convey the copy paper together with the perforated endless belt 9 by means of the suction force of the suction nozzle 13, while the belt 9 is driven. A feeler 18 is disposed relative to a passage of the copy paper in order to detect whether the copy paper is suitably introduced to a position for forming the potential image upon the copy paper. This position is preferably chosen in the vicinity of the downstream end of the endless belt 9. The feeler 18 is connected to a limit switch 17 accompanying a time relay so as to control the stopping or restarting of a driving means (not shown) of the drive roller 11. The optical means comprises a therebetween and are disposed between the pairs of the rollers 24a, 24b, 25a, 25b in a submerged condition within the developing liquid in the bath 27. Next to the outlet terminal of the bath, a blowing chamber 29 is disposed and accompanied with a curved guide plate 28 partly and peripherally covering the chamber 29 with a spaced relation as shown in FIG. 1. TI-Ie blowing chamber 29 is provided with many small apertures peripherally formed therethrough and is connected to the suction fan 16 by a connecting conduit 30. Next, a chute 31 for receiving copies is disposed at a position under the bath 27, and one end thereof is connected to one end of the curved guide plate 28.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a preferable embodiment of means for holding an original includes a rectangular frame 32, provided with a transparent glass plate 22 which is secured to an outside frame 32a by an inside frame 32b. The inside frame 32b has a rectangular shape so as to fit snugly into the inside inclined surface of the frame 32a as shown in FIG. 3. The

frame 32 is provided with a pair of horizontal arms 39a and 39b. These arms 39a and 39b are slidably engaged with a horizontal shaft 40 supported by a pair of brackets 41a and 41b which are secured to a frame of the present apparatus. A threaded fastener 44 is engaged with a threaded aperture of the arms 39a so as to fix the position of the arm 39a upon the horizontal shaft 40. The horizontalshaft 40 is provided with a scale 42 which is useful for determining the proper position for. the frame 32. A supporting plate 36 is swingably supported by a supporting lever 45 which has one end secured to a horizontal shaft 34 which is rotatably mounted on brackets mounted on the frame of the apparatus. A cushion 37, such as an elastic synthetic rubber, is fixed to the upper surface of the supporting plate 36. A horizontal shaft 35 is also rotatably mounted on brackets (not shown) with the shaft 34 in a mutually parallel arrangement. A pinion 46 is rigidly mounted on the shaft 34 and meshes with a wheel 47 rigidly mounted on the shaft 35. A ratchet wheel 48 is also rigidly mounted on the shaft 35 and meshes with a pawl 49 turnably mounted on the frame of the apparatus. A handle 50 is secured to the shaft 35. When the shaft 35 is turned counterclockwise in FIG. I, the pinion 46 is rotated clockwise and then the supporting lever 45 is turned clockwisely around the shaft 34. Therefore, when an original such as a book is placed on the cushion 37, the original is suitably pressed to the under surface of the transparent glass plate 22. At this position of the supporting plate 36, the pawl 49 engages with the ratchet wheel 48 so as to maintain the original in contact with the transparent glass plate 22. By using the cushion 37, the contacting surface of the original with the transparent glass plate 22 is preferably maintained in a smooth condition. Moreover, when it is required to change the original, such as by turning the page of a book, such manipulation can be performed after lowering the supporting plate 36 from the transparent glass plate 22 by turning the handle 50 clockwise, without any positional change of the original in connection with the supporting plate 36, after withdrawing the pawl 49 from the ratchet wheel 48. Furthermore, a pawl 43 is secured to the shaft 40 and another pawl 51 is so disposed to the frame of the apparatus that they are put into engagement when the original is properly held by the above-mentioned means. Therefore, when the original is composed of a plurality of connected pages of a foliated substance such as a book, it is very easy to change the pages of then originals while supporting the by means of the cushion 37 of the supporting plate 36.

The pair of electric lamps 211 a and 21b are located at suitable positions for lighting the original uniformly when the original is pressed to the transparent glass plate 22 as shown in FIG. 1.

The operation of the elements of the above-mentioned apparatus is carried out by so-called pushbutton system" (not shown) provided with a main switch button. Therefore, the copying operation can be carried out very simply in the following steps. That is, firstly an original is placed on the cushion 37 of the supporting plate 36 in an upwardly facing condition, the handle 50 is turned so as to press the original to the transparent glass plate 22, and the main switch button is pushed. Then a sheet of copy paper is transferred from the electrostatic charging means 7 to the endless belt 9. As soon as the forward end of the copy paper contacts the feeler 18, the drive of the belt 9 is stopped, the lamps 21a, 21b are simultaneously switched on, an electrostatic potential image is made on the copy paper, the lamps 21a, 21b are switched off after a predetermined period of lighting, the endless belt 9 is simultaneously driven, the copy paper is carried to the developing bath 27, the developed paper is carried through the squeezing rollers 25a, 25b and the air chamber to accelerate the drying, and finally the developed copy paper is carried to the chute 31. when the next page of the abovementioned original is to be copied, the page can be positioned easily without removing the book from the cushion 37 by lowering the supporting plate 36 from the transparent glass plate 22. In case of the positional arrangement of the original, the shifting of the original is carried out very easily by sliding the frame 32 along the horizontal shaft 40. In this operation, the scale 43 is helpfully used to fine the set position of the original.

In FIG. 4, another embodiment of the copying apparatus of the invention utilizing a photographic technology is shown. In this embodiment, a roll of sensitive copy paper l'a is used in stead of the fresh paper la shown in FIG. 1, and the electrostatic charging device 7 in FIG. 1 is omitted. The cutter 4 is placed at a position of the electrostatic charging device 7 of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. A pair of curved plates 6a, 6b are disposed between two pairs of rollers 3a, 3b, a, S'b as shown in FIG. 4. The other elements of the apparatus shown in the first embodiment are included in the second embodiment, so that the operation of the copying apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is carried out in the same way, except for the method of supplying the sensitive paper to the endless belt 9. That is, firstly the sensitive copy paper la rotatably supported to the shaft 1 is fed to the endless belt 9, and when the forward end of the paper contacts with a feeler (not shown) disposed to a passage of the sensitive paper, the feeler actuates to operate the cutter device 4. After the cutting operation, the cut paper is conveyed by the endless belt until the forward end of the cut paper contacts the feeler 18. Therefore, it is required that the position of the above-mentioned feeler be set in such a way that a distance between the feeler and the cutting blade 4a causes a series of sensitive papers to be cut, all having a predetermined length. Other operations are carried out in the same manner as described with respect to the first embodiment.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been described, many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims:

What is claimed is:

1. In an electrophotographic copying machine, wherein an image is photographed from above an object defining said image, improved means for holding said object comprising: a supporting plate connected to said machine for holding on an upper surface thereof an object to be photographed; a transparent plate; means connecting said transparent plate to said machine in a disposition above said supporting plate; and means for pressing said supporting plate toward said transparent plate to bring said object into pressure contact with said transparent plate including a supporting lever having one end pivotally connected to said supporting plate, drive gear means mounted on said machine for rotational movement, pinion gear means in mesh with said drive gear means and fixed to the other end of said supporting lever, whereby rotation of said drive gear means causes movement of said supporting plate with respect to said transparent plate.

2. In an electrophotographic apparatus including a frame having connected thereto means for supplying sheets of paper, a device for charging said sheets of paper with electrostatic energy to produce copy papers, a movable endless belt for conveying copy papers delivered from said charging device, means for making an electrostatic potential image on said copy paper while said copy paper is held motionless by said endless belt, a developing bath for developing said potential image of said copy paper, and a chute for receiving developed copy papers delivered from said developing bath; wherein an improvement for making an electrostatic potential image on a copy paper comprises: means connected to said frame for holding an original facing upward, a transparent planar plate connected to said frame above said holding means, means connected to said frame for pressing said holding means toward said transparent planar plate to being said original into pressure contact with said transparent plate during a copying operation, a plurality of electric lights mounted on said frame in an arrangement to illuminate uniformly said upper side of said original, a collecting lens mounted on said frame at a symmetrical position with respect to said electric lights for focusing an image of said original, a reflection mirror mounted on said frame at a position above said collecting lens to project light from said collecting lens on a copy paper held motionless by said endless belt, wherein said pressing means comprises a supporting lever disposed under said holding means and having one end of said supporting lever pivotally connected to said holding means, first and second brackets fixed to said frame, first and second horizontal shafts rotatably supported respectively by said first and second brackets, said first shaft being fixedly connected to the other end of said supporting lever, a pinion secured to said first horizontal shaft, a wheel secured to said second shaft and engaged with said pinion, a ratchet wheel secured to said second horizontal shaft, a pawl turnably supported on said frame for engaging with said ratchet wheel so as to stop a free turning of said ratchet wheel; whereby said supporting lever can be turned around the axis of said first shaft and stopped at any position, thereby controlling movement of said holding means.

3. An improvement according to claim 2, further characterized in that said holding means comprises a supporting plate and a cushion mounted on said supporting plate, for engaging said original. 

1. In an electrophotographic copying machine, wherein an image is photographed from above an object defining said image, improved means for holding said object comprising: a supporting plate connected to said machine for holding on an upper surface thereof an object to be photographed; a transparent plate; means connecting said transparent plate to said machine in a disposition above said supporting plate; and means for pressing said supporting plate toward said transparent plate to bring said object into pressure contact with said transparent plate including a supporting lever having one end pivotally connected to said supporting plate, drive gear means mounted on said machine for rotational movement, pinion gear means in mesh with said drive gear means and fixed to the other end of said supporting lever, whereby rotation of said drive gear means causes movement of said supporting plate with respect to said transparent plate.
 2. In an electrophotographic apparatus including a frame having connected thereto means for supplying sheets of paper, a device for charging said sheets of paper with electrostatic energy to produce copy papers, a movable endless belt for conveying copy papers delivered from said charging device, means for making an electrostatic potential image on said copy paper while said copy paper is held motionless by said endless belt, a developing bath for developing said potential image of said copy paper, and a chute for receiving developed copy papers delivered from said developing bath; wherein an improvement for making an electrostatic potential image on a copy paper comprises: means connected to said frame for holding an original facing upward, a transparent planar plate connected to said frame above said holding means, means connected to said frame for pressing said holding means toward said transparent planar plate to being said original into pressure contact with said transparent plate during a copying operation, a plurality of electric lights mounted on said frame in an arrangement to illuminate uniformly said upper side of said original, a collecting lens mounted on said frame at a symmetrical position with respect to said electric lights for focusing an image of said original, a reflection mirror mounted on said frame at a position above said collecting lens to project light from said collecting lens on a copy paper held motionless by said endless belt, wherein said pressing means comprises a supporting lever disposed under said holding means and having one end of said supporting lever pivotally connected to said holding means, first and second brackets fixed to said frame, first and second horizontal shafts rotatably supported respectively by said first and second brackets, said first shaft being fixedly connected to the other end of said supporting lever, a pinion secured to said first horizontal shaft, a wheel secured to said second shaft and engaged with said pinion, a ratchet wheel secured to said second horizontal shaft, a pawl turnably supported on said frame for engaging with said ratchet wheel so as to stop a free turning of said ratchet wheel; whereby said supporting lever can be turned around the axis of said first shaft and stopped at any position, thereby controlling movement of said holding means.
 3. An improvement according to claim 2, further characterized in that said holding means comprises a supporting plate and a cushion mounted on said supporting plate, for engaging said original. 